Tuesday, December 30, 2008

I recently won a contest over at A Cardboard Problem. My prize? A hobby pack of 2008 Upper Deck Documentary. Can I find something worthwhile in this pack? Will it be a complete dud? Will I find a game involving the White Sox? We shall see.

I love the idea behind Upper Deck Documentary. Showcasing each game played from each team’s perspective. Sounds very interesting… right? It could have been, if Upper Deck didn’t cut some corners here and there.

The first card out of the pack illustrates this perfectly.

2138/BAL78 – Orioles 11 – Cubs 4

Is that a home uniform on the Oriole? I would certainly appear that way. But that can’t be… they’re supposed to be playing at Wrigley.On through the rest of the pack!

2407/LAA87 – Blue Jays 7 – Angels 5

2715/AZD95 – Diamondbacks 3 – Phillies 6

1006/DET36 – Red Sox 5 – Tigers 1

1045/LAD35 – Astros 7 – Dodgers 1

1035/KCR35 – Orioles 7 – Royals 4

1133/SFG33 – Giants 6 – Pirates 12

1123/SDP33 – Padres 3 – Braves 5

HRD-1 – Josh Hamilton3234/NYM109 – Mets 3 – Astros 7

3231/MIN109 – Indians 1 – Twins 4

3228/MIL109 – Cubs 11 – Brewers 4

3269/WAS108 – Phillies 8 – Nationals 4

3266/TOR108 – Rays 3 – Blue Jays 2

447/LAD17 – Dodgers 1 – Braves 4 (Gold?)What was it on the Cosby Show? You can have a steak cooked to perfection with all the trimmings, but if you serve it on the underside of a garbage can lid, you wouldn’t want to eat that steak. That’s how I feel about Upper Deck Documentary. All this cool information was gathered and printed on each card, only to be undermined by a photo that was unrelated to the game being documented.

tastelikedirt is correct - I already have three Cubs game cards with the SAME shot of Fukodome. The set could have been really interesting, but there are so many things wrong with it - photos unrelated to the game, players not identified, photos of players not even IN the game...